Trinitarian Magazine Issue 1/2015 by Trinity Christian Centre

www.trinity.sg

Issue 01/2015

EXPERIENCE THE POWER OF GOD THAT BRINGS

BREAKTHROUGH | FREEDOM | HEALING

THE LIGHT OF CHRISTMAS

REAL LIFE MIRACLES

#JUBILEE 50K CHALLENGE

MISSIONS SPECIAL 2014

EASTER2015

JASON

THE YEAR OF

FRENN

Jubilee

Jason Frenn is an acclaimed Author, International Speaker and Evangelist. He shares about the power of God to change and transform lives. Thousands have received healing and experienced breakthroughs through his ministry.

Fri, Apr 3, 5pm* & 8pm Sat, Apr 4, 5pm* Trinity@Paya Lebar www.trinity.sg

Issue 01/2015

*Concurrent Children’s Program for ages 4-12.

Conventions 2015 MISSIONS RALLY Fri, Mar 13, 8pm Trinity@Paya Lebar Come dressed in a national costume Catch God’s heartbeat for the nations!

MISSIONS WEEKEND Trinity@Paya Lebar Trinity@Adam Sat, Mar 14, 5pm Sat, Mar 14, 5pm Sun, Mar 15, 10am Sun, Mar 15, 8.30 & 11am Rev Dikran Salbashian Rev Dikran Salbashian is the Senior Pastor of New Life Assembly in Jordan and the General Superintendent of Jordan Assemblies of God. He also serves on the executive committee of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship and heads a ministry that reaches the people in the Middle East. Come and be blessed by his life story and catch the urgency to see every person touched for Jesus Christ.

www.trinity.sg

Rev Jules Jules Rev Jules Jules is the Senior Pastor of New Life Church in Baghdad, Iraq. He has been imprisoned, tortured, and given a death sentence, but was released miraculously. Today his church is about a thousand and still growing. Rev Jules said “I used to look for people who were ready for ministry. Now I look for people who are ready to die – to die to their own plans and ideas.”

COMING UP IN

2015

Get ready for God to speak powerfully to you through these anointed guest speakers!

MISSIONS CONVENTION 2015 MAR 14 & 15

Dikran Salbashian

Jules Jules

Senior Pastor of New Life Assembly in Jordan.

Senior Pastor of New Life Church in Baghdad, Iraq.

Easter 2015 Apr 3-5

Jason Frenn Evangelist Jason Frenn has held more than 55 international crusades where more than 3 million people have heard the presentation of the Gospel. He has seen more than 300,000 first-time decisions for Christ. Jason is a bestselling author and has a daily live radio program.

May 9 & 10

Samuel Rodriguez Rev Samuel Rodriguez is the President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. He was nominated by TIME magazine for its “100 Most Influential People in The World” list in 2013. By God’s Grace, Samuel is one of America’s leading Christian voices to build the Kingdom of God, reconciling a platform of righteousness and justice.

Jun 11-14

Gary Rucci Rev Gary Rucci is the Director of Mission for the Assemblies of God of Great Britain. Gary is known for his passionate and articulate communication. His preaching is thought-provoking and relevant to real world problems today. Be captivated by God’s missional heart through this man.

Jun 11-14

Glyn Barrett Rev Glyn Barrett is the Senior Pastor of !Audacious Church, a nation-shaking church in Manchester, England and also the author of books ‘If I Was The Devil’ and ‘The Audacious Revolution’. A powerful communicator, Glyn’s motivational teachings from God’s Word have impacted the lives of tens of thousands of people around the world.

Sep 18-20

Wilfredo De Jesús Rev Wilfredo De Jesús is Senior Pastor of New Life Covenant Church (NLC), one of the fastest growing churches in Chicago. A man who believes no one is beyond the transforming power of God’s love, he calls Christians to arise to reach out to those in need and those “that nobody wants”, such as the homeless, gangs, and drug addicts.

Sep 26 & 27

Les Bowling Rev Les Bowling is the founder of Eagle Rock Ministries in Ohio, originating president of Gospel and the Preacher Bible College, and overseer of Eagle Rock Covenant Network. He is dedicated to teaching the truth of the gospel message, and equipping disciples with Biblical truths and the power to proclaim them!

CONTENTS ISSUE 01/2015

THE YEAR OF

Jubilee Watchnight Message 2014

p34 THE YEAR OF JUBILEE

34 ENVISION 40 ENVISION THE YEAR OF JUBILEE #JUBILEE50K Watchnight Message 2014

CHALLENGE Proclaim the Year of the Lord’s Favor

CLOSE 31 UP MY BURDEN, HE

CLOSE 32 UP GOD HEARS MY

CARRIED Real Life Miracles

PRAYERS! Real Life Miracles

48 HEARTBEAT MISSIONS SPECIAL 2014 An overview of Trinity’s Missions from Jan to Dec 2014

52 HEARTBEAT MISSIONS REPORT 2014 A Highlight of Our Missions Efforts

CLOSE 30 UP GOD, ARE YOU SURE I CAN GIVE? Real Life Miracles

CLOSE 90 UP CAUGHT ON TRINITY’S CAMERA

50 HEARTBEAT 51 HEARTBEAT MISSIONS DIRECTOR’S MISSIONS AT A MESSAGE Deputy Senior Pastor Jeffrey Wong Says ‘Thank You’

54 HEARTBEAT THANK YOU TRINITARIANS FOR GOING TO THE NATIONS! A Photo Journal of all the MITs in 2014

GLANCE An Overview of Trinity’s Missions Outreach

58 HEARTBEAT THE WHOLE GOSPEL A Special Feature to Understanding the Whole Gospel for the Whole World

CONTENTS ISSUE 01/2015

THE WHOLE

What is Missions?

a) Is it preaching John 3:16 to people who have not heard of the gospel?

SPEL

b) Is it carrying out the evangelistic mandate as in Acts 1:8 where we are called to be God’s witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth? c) Is it clothing the poor brother, feeding the hungry, looking after the sick etc. (Matt 25:35-40)? The answer is all of the above... and more.

p58 THE WHOLE GOSPEL

HEARTBEAT 73 HEARTBEAT MENTORING PASTORS 74 FROM CLASSROOM TO PULPIT See How TCA College Raises a Harvest Force

86 FOCUS TOUGH QUESTIONS

14 PULSE THE LIGHT OF

ANSWERED Are there Errors in the Bible ?

CHRISTMAS Christmas 2014

22 PULSE TRINITY BIDS ADIEU

78 PULSE FIRST PRAYER

TO 2014 Celebrating our Three Touchstone Year-end Events

82 PULSE NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE IGNYTE Worship Concert

p52 MISSIONS REPORT 2014

p82 NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE

p80 ABLAZE

Walking Alongside Ministers

p54 THANK YOU TRINITARIANS FOR GOING TO THE NATIONS!

MEETING OF 2014 Releasing the Promises of God through Prayer

84 PULSE BOOST Campus Camp

p84 BOOST

76 HEARTBEAT PARTNERSHIP ENRICHES, ENABLES AND EMPOWERS Trinitarians Serving in CCSS

20 PULSE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE!! Children’s Christmas Event

80 PULSE ABLAZE DiscoveryLand Camp

ADVISOR

Pastor Dominic Yeo

CHIEF EDITOR

Pastor Janice Chng

EDITOR

EDITORIAL TEAM

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Diana Lim

Carol Lim Daniel Koh Dawn Lim Hannah Tan June Teh Lye Hui Xian

Miranda Zhang Rachel Lim Rebecca Vinod Sharon Lim

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Amy Lin Cherie Ong Hannah Lee Krystle Foo Lily Lim Noelle Lim Pastor Dominic Yeo Pastor Jeffrey Wong Pastor Margaret Tay Children’s Ministry IGNYTE Ministry Campus Ministry Kelvin Low Pufferfish Twenty4Frames

DESIGNERS

Big Detail Pte Ltd

ILLUSTRATOR

Low Yilin

EDITORIAL SUPPORT

Sarah Lau

Dearest Pastor Dominic and all Pastoral Staff,

Dear Pastor Dominic, Words cannot express my heartfelt thanks for the e-card you sent me for my birthday. I am deeply touched and encouraged by your kind wishes, blessings and prophetic insights into what the Lord has for me! Thank you for your kindness and goodness. May the Lord of Israel bless you and your family with all spiritual blessings richly and beautifully! Will always keep you and your family in prayer. Ivy Ong

Send your appreciation notes to connect@trinity.sg

I am really thankful for the many years that I’ve been in Trinity (2004-2014). Trinity has been home for me. It’s a church that has enabled me to truly grow in God, to discover and use my potential as I serve in various ministries. The many courses in LEAD and AlphaTrack have equipped me to be a disciple and leader. I’m really thankful to the pastoral staff, my friends and the different carecell members through the years for impacting my life in one way or another. Each week I look forward to attending carecell meetings and services, and I’ve seen myself grow from one who places trust in self to one who trusts and leans upon God. Trinity will always have a special place in my heart as I move on to my husband’s church to join him in his church and ministry. I will always remember how Trinity has helped me grow tremendously in my spiritual walk and I want to continue to be a blessing where God enables me to. Warmest wishes, Joy Yew

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The Trinitarian is published quarterly by Trinity Christian Centre. Company registration number 197802911H MICA (P) 070/04/2014 Printed in Singapore by Refine Printing Pte Ltd License number L005/06/2014 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without express written permission is prohibited. Opinions and views expressed do not necessarily constitute the official stand of the church.

www.trinity.sg Email

connect@trinity.sg Issue 1/2015

Dear Trinitarians, 2015 is in full swing. As a church we have been trumpeting the call to be a blessing and it’s critical that we understand the heart behind this. Read the Watchnight message on p34 and learn more about what God is leading us to do as a church this year. Our ability to be a blessing isn’t determined by how much we have to give, but about the posture of our hearts. If you have been actively seeking opportunities to perform your 10 acts of blessings, reflect on how the first quarter of the year has been for you. You would have discovered that the more conscious you are about being a blessing, the more you become a blessing to those God has placed around you. Furthermore, when you step out to be a blessing, you will realize that you actually have more

to give that you thought, thus expanding your capacity to be an agent of change for God! The Jubilee 50K challenge is more than just performing acts of kindness. Not only is it about actualizing a culture of noticing needs and meeting them, it’s also about turning the tables on negativity. Imagine if your social media pages were all about how someone encouraged somebody instead of criticisms and complaints. What a different world we would have! Read more about the Jubilee 50K challenge on p40 and join us in changing the world. How else can we be a world changer? The month of March is a time when we come together to catch God’s passionate heartbeat for the nations at our Missions Convention. I recall our first Missions Convention in 1977. We were a small congregation at the time,

OUR ABILITY TO BE A BLESSING ISN’T DETERMINED BY HOW MUCH WE HAVE TO GIVE, BUT ABOUT THE POSTURE OF OUR HEARTS.

mostly made up of young adults. We also did not have our own place of worship then. Yet, we gave to bless the nations first instead of raising funds for a property to call our own. This has set the path for Trinity in investing monies, time and pastors into churches beyond our shores to help them be successful in their ministry. Many pastors around the world do not have mentors and often walk a lonely path in serving God. For a long time, God has placed upon my heart to ‘adopt’ these pastors and be a mentor to them. For this reason, we launched the Ministry and Mentorship (M2) program in 2014, so that we can be a blessing to these pastors and walk alongside them in their ministry as well as their personal lives. This program is not just about my relationship with them. It involves us all as Trinitarians to pray for them, encourage them when they are among us and to be family to them. Read about the M2 program on p73. Trinitarians, we are a global church with a global agenda. I invite you to read the missions articles from p48-77 to find out how you can be involved in praying, giving and going to the Nations. Also, it’s important that we come together as a church at Missions Convention 2015 to hear what God has to say through Rev Dikran Salbashian and Rev Jules V Jules. Let God ignite His heart for the world in your heart!

PULSE

A voice thunders, “Let there be light!” and a brilliant kaleidoscope of color and sound dazzles the packed sanctuary in the telling of the story of Creation and the Light that triumphs over darkness, and illuminates our way in the darkest night. From December 19 to 24, over six presentations of the performance took place in front of 13,000 people. Most importantly, 267 decisions were made for Christ! By Daniel Koh Zhi Guo

PULSE THE LIGHT OF CHRISTMAS

Here are some of the testimonies. This was my uncle's second visit to church after last year's Christmas presentation. Over the past year, my mother and I tried to invite him to church but he always gave excuses not to come. Surprisingly, this time he called to say that he would attend on Monday. God must have changed his mind. During the presentation, my uncle was moved by Vincent's testimony. I asked if I could pray for him. Thereafter, I asked if he would invite Jesus into his life. He nodded and agreed to receive Jesus! Eveleen Ng While waiting at the counter for the last two headsets to be returned, I was asked to speak to a Japanese man at the altar. 62-year-old Mr Hanada Akira had come to The Light of Christmas on the invitation of his wife’s friend. I asked if he wanted Jesus in his life. He said, "Yes!" and I took the opportunity to share the gospel with his wife and 13 year old daughter who were also with him. While his wife needed more time, their daughter Chika, also accepted Jesus that night! Vinlly Cheah I invited my students to The Light of Christmas and three of them agreed to attend. During the presentation, they were touched by the display of God's love. Two of them responded to the altar call to receive salvation. The other student was initially unsure, but after listening to a Spiritual Parent who came by and shared the gospel with him, he received Christ as well! Shirleen Lee

Allen and I have been praying for his parents’ salvation for more than 20 years. Over the years, his parents have attended various presentations at Trinity. On Friday, I encouraged my mother-in-law to stay open during The Light of Christmas presentation and hoped that she would respond this time, when the preaching pastor invited her to pray to receive Jesus. At the end of the presentation, both of us were amazed when we received a text message with a photo of Allen's mother seated with an altar worker! She had responded to receive Jesus! Pastor Wai Ling

I was chatting with my neighbor Yvonne when she said her son was curious about church. I was excited and told her that I am a Christian, and invited her and her family to our Christmas presentation. During the altar call, Yvonne and her two sons (Randal, 9 years old, and Fabian, 8 years old), raised their hands to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior! Joey Kong

Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.

I accepted Jesus at a young age but my father never approved of me being Christian. Over the last 20 years, I’ve asked my parents and sister if they want to accept Jesus but they kept saying no. Nevertheless I persisted in praying for them and sharing God's goodness.

TURNING THE LIGHTS ON By Daniel Koh Zhi Guo

This Christmas, after much persuasion, they finally agreed to come, although I felt they were simply obliging me. During the presentation they seemed distracted and uninterested and I wondered if any of the presentation made sense to them. When the altar call was made, they did not respond. However, by divine arrangement, Pastor Sabrina was sitting next to my parents. She shared the gospel with them and asked if they wanted to receive Jesus in their hearts. To my greatest joy, I heard Dad said ‘yes’ followed by my mum and my sister. God had answered my prayer for my family’s salvation! Alice Tan

OUR MIGHTY LITTLE ONES 120 Trinitarian children stepped up to the plate for The Light of Christmas. Through nine practices and six presentations, our children passionately honored God with their hearts and voices. Matthew Lam, the youngest of four brothers, joined the choir “so that my uncles and aunties may know Jesus”. The 10-year-old got to know many pre-teens his age as well, and is keen to serve again so that he may “invite more people to come to church”.

PULSE TURNING THE LIGHTS ON BACKSTAGE

For Asher Chan, it was the first time the four-year-old joined his elder siblings Amber Chan (11 years) and Alldan Chan (10 years) on stage. It was also the first time his grandparents said "yes" to stepping into church. "Asher was worried my parents wouldn't want to come. But when he asked (in Mandarin!), they promptly agreed!" beamed Yean Cheng, Asher's mother, who has been a Trinitarian for over two decades. Their domestic helper, Jusilah attended the presentation as well, and received Jesus as her Lord and Savior! Our little ones also displayed great tenacity beyond their years. Many had the sniffles, but marched relentlessly onto the stage with smiles in their eyes and joy in their voices. Fiveyear-old Gabriel Chia did not let a stomachache stop him from bobbing and singing for Jesus. Joshua Cheng, 9, insisted on going up the stage despite having vomited barely an hour before the presentation. After the sixth and final presentation, with their eyes sparkling, many of the children declared to their parents in full vim and vigor, “I want to do this again!” Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14) As Natania Ooi, 6, one of the child soloists sang, “Let Your light shine on us!” Amen!

DID YOU KNOW? The length of cloth and sequins required to sew choir robes for all 120 children came up to 320m and 550m respectively.

Parent helpers started preparations daily at 3pm, before the children reported at 5pm to ready themselves for every presentation. The six-minute long opening video required 56 highdefinition footages, two months to source and a whole month to edit!

It took 4 dancers and a piece of cloth to animate an elephant walking out from Noah’s Ark. It took 3 dancers, 4 branches and a fruit to create the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”

The youngest dancer in the “Shadow Dance” is only 13 years old! Prior to this presentation, both dancers in the “Contention” dance had not put on their ballet shoes in a decade! They had to dance through hurting toes, swollen ankles and pulled shoulder muscles!

UP CLOSE Sajeeth Praveen (Multimedia Team) 34 years old, Managing Director of a media company

What were some of the challenges that you and your team faced? Putting 14 videos together was a Himalayan task! Since we don’t have the capabilities to view all the videos simultaneously, we were only able to view them and make the necessary amendments in the final week when the projectors vendors were with us. There were several occasions when so many things seemed like a “no-go”. But God made the impossible possible by giving us fresh perspectives and bringing in help. Roy Foo (One of the 25 Parent Helpers) An Army Officer for more than half his lifetime!

Carrie Lam (Choir Director) A pitch-perfect Finance Executive who has conducted our adult choir 6 times!

What gave you the greatest joy from leading the children? Knowing how much the children enjoyed themselves (with some prioritizing choir practice over their regular hobbies!) and the wonderful news that many of their family and friends attended the presentations.

How did you get the children to do your bidding? Did leading soldiers in the army help prepare you for your “platoon” of children? I had little experience interacting with the 10- to 12-year-olds I was leading, and it was certainly not easy. The regimental “commanders-order-soldiers-obey” approach was hardly effective, and it was important for me to understand their personalities individually. This was necessary so I could help them better learn what it means to give one’s best when serving God. And I had God’s help too, of course! Wong Wan Tze (Dance Team) Noelle Wee (Dance Director) Homemaker and mother of three sons. She choreographed our first “Shadow Dance” for the 2013 Christmas presentation “Once Upon A Star”.

What was your greatest learning? God showing me that His grace is sufficient for me, and that His power is made perfect in my weakness. (2 Cor 12:9). This was one of my most challenging productions to date with dancers being injured and having to pull them out, as well as technical limitations. Turning to God in prayer and seeing Him intervene as He did, while serving alongside a team of talented dancers and dedicated individuals, were my greatest learnings.

A Sales Executive who had not danced ballet for almost 10 years!

What made you decide to put on your ballet shoes and dance again? Because every blessing I have comes from God! So serving is just an expression of love and gratefulness to God for everything He has done for me. Being involved in God’s redemption work is also a privilege. The best thing about serving is hearing from others that their loved ones have been saved!

PULSE

E L B I S S O P IM ! ! E L B I S S O P Close to 500 children were treated to an exciting time-traveling adventure with Professor Tee and his quirky companions, Chimp (Professor Tee’s chimpanzee assistant), Chic and a Christmas Tree. The “time machine” transported everyone back in time to 700 years before, to find out how God made the impossible possible. Their journey was packed with lighthearted humor and meaningful biblical lessons that captured the undivided attention of the children. Through the discovery of the almost impossible Christmas, a total of 173 decisions were made for Jesus!

1700. 1800. 190

Hear from our little ones! I enjoyed the ‘Impossible Possible’ show. I thought it was impossible but God managed to protect Jesus. - Isaac Lee, 7 years old The show is interesting. I liked the part where the shepherds shared about Jesus. The actors are funny. I will invite friends for future presentations. - Theresa Soh, 10 years old: God is powerful and He sends angels to us. - Jared Chng, 5 years old I enjoyed the presentation. I learnt that God knows everything and that He can do the impossible. - Ryan Tan, 10 years old The characters are very funny. God knows everything about us. - Charlotte Tan, 10 years old (FTV) The presentation is funny. The Christmas tree is very cute and the presentation taught me about God. I would like to come and know more because I am not a Christian yet. - Rachel Lim, 9 years old (FTV)

PULSE

B DS Ad eu to 2014 As the year 2014 drew to a close, Trinitarians turned up by the thousands for a time of worship, thanksgiving and fellowship at three major events at Trinity Christian Centre: Family Christmas, Family Communion and Watchnight Service. By Rebecca Vinod.

FAMILY CHRISTMAS On Christmas Day, Trinitarians came together with their families to Trinity@Paya Lebar and Trinity@Adam for a spirited and joyous celebration of the birth of Christ. It was a heartwarming sight to see them reveling in the festive mood as they met with each other. The service started off with a mix of traditional yuletide carols and contemporary worship songs. Most importantly, we were reminded of what Christmas truly is about – Jesus, He who brings hope to humanity and who is most worthy of our worship. At Trinity@Paya Lebar, Senior Pastor Dominic Yeo showed us that Christmas is really about the worship of God, just as how the wise men from the East sought to find Jesus so they could worship Him. True worship springs from a joyful heart and is always God-focused. True worship always has a price to pay, the price of discipleship and how we choose to live our lives in a way that will honor Him. Over at Trinity@Adam, Resident Apostle Pastor Naomi Dowdy‘s thought provoking message revolved around the true meaning and message of Christmas. She emphasized that even today, the birth of Jesus brings new hope and purpose in the lives of ordinary people, just as it did thousands of years ago. God invaded earth to turn our problems into possibilities, failures into fruitfulness, weakness into strength and despair into hope.

Family Christmas is a time of rejoicing with my family and church. This year was extra special because of the many salvations that came through the Christmas evangelistic events. - Celeste Saw

It’s great to celebrate Christmas together with my family.I also learned that there is a deeper meaning to Christmas. Veron Tang

PULSE TRINITY BIDS ADIEU TO 2014

FAMILY COMMUNION Communion is at the heart of the Christian faith. The emblems of communion are sacred – the bread and the cup represent the broken body of Christ and the blood that He shed for the forgiveness of sins. Communion has been esteemed throughout the ages and across the world, and is an integral part of Christian worship. Family Communion at Trinity Christian Center at the year’s end is a special time when Trinitarians gather to partake of communion together as a biological family and/or carecell, our spiritual family. While it serves as a reminder of Christ’s supreme sacrifice on the cross, it’s also a time of reflection and thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness throughout our lives both for the past year and for the year to come.

PULSE TRINITY BIDS ADIEU TO 2014

WATCHNIGHT SERVICE It was an electrifying, exhilarating end to 2014 at Trinity@Paya Lebar. In just a short while, the Sanctuary was jam packed with Trinitarians eager to usher in the New Year and receive God’s prophetic word. The tangible presence of God was felt throughout the service, especially during the soul stirring worship. This was interspersed with powerful, edifying testimonies from Trinitarians affirming God’s power and faithfulness in 2014. Senior Pastor Dominic Yeo derived his message from Luke 4 and prophetically declared the year 2015 as ‘The Year of Jubilee”- a year of rest, restoration and a year of the Lord’s favor. Read the Watchnight message on p34.

PULSE TRINITY BIDS ADIEU TO 2014

Getting Ready for Watchnight Service!

12 9

3 6

6.45pm: Quick Dinner

12 3

7 7.15pm We are the early birds!

12 3

7 7.45pm Snake queues forming fast

And So It Begins…

12 3

9 6

8.15pm Beyond what you can queue

UP CLOSE After the vision weekend, a property investment that I had kept coming to mind and I was sure that God wanted me to sell this property. My best friend, who is an agent, advised me to reconsider the asking price as it was way above the highest lastsold price, but I held on to the price God had revealed to me. Two weeks later, my friend called and told me an interested buyer had paid the option fees at the exact price I was asking for and my investment was sold, allowing me to fulfill my vision faith promise!

Are You Sure God, I Can Give?

Committing to a faith promise that seems unrealistic has always been a struggle for Jean Loy, but God was about to take her faith to a whole new level by teaching her about the best move she could make – investing in His kingdom.

I have always made my missions and vision faith promises based on my ability to give. However in recent years, God has been challenging me to step out in faith, to give above and beyond what I can logically put together. In 2011, God laid a figure in my heart to give as my vision faith promise. I was apprehensive as it was double the amount of my previous faith promise. Despite this, I put down the amount, and trusted in God to provide.

That was not all! In early 2014, I heard God asking me to give boldly and largely to the Missions faith promise. This time I asked God how it was going to happen as I don’t have any more investments to sell or anything that God could use to “create” this amount. As the missions weekend approached, the conviction within me to give this same large amount was stronger than ever. I sensed that God wanted me to grow to a new level of faith in my giving and my participation in the missions trip. So I wrote down the large figure in faith and promised God that I would go for a missions trip to India – a country that required me to literally step out of my comfort zone. Not long after, my company announced a reorganization, which led to me being retrenched. During this period, God’s assurance was real and reminded me that He is sovereign over every situation. It turned out the redundancy payment from my company was more than sufficient for me to fulfill my faith promise once again!

After my experience in the missions trip, I am more compelled than ever to give toward God’s kingdom despite my circumstances because I know that investing in the kingdom of God is the best investment ever!

More than giving of my finances, I remembered my commitment to go for a mission trip, so I signed up for a missions trip to India in July. During this trip, I witnessed the work of Trinity’s missions in reaching the unreached. I was moved by the testimonies of the church planters who willingly gave of themselves to serve God. After my experience in the missions trip, I am more compelled than ever to give toward God’s kingdom despite my circumstances because I know that investing in the kingdom of God is the best investment ever! Through this experience, I have been convinced that God gives peace in times of difficulty and provides for more than our needs when we trust Him instead of leaning on our own understanding. Coming into alignment with God’s plans takes much faith and obedience, but it’s worth every step of the journey!

My Burden, He Carried After a series of unfortunate events – having to search for a new job, an expiring employment pass and financial burdens from an impending surgery – Neil T. Dalina Jr.’s situation seemed bleak with hardly any way out. Experiencing God’s orchestration in his life through five days of fasting and prayer was all he needed to receive breakthrough in his walk with God. In late-2013, my stressful work environment made me consider leaving my job but I hesitated due to financial issues. My employment pass was also about to expire. By the grace of God, I received a job offer. Just when things were looking up, a few days later, while doing some household chores, I fell from a considerable height. I suffered a right foot fracture and dislocated my heel bone extending to the joints due to the tremendous impact. A surgery had to be done within the month and 31

UP CLOSE it would cost between S$12,000 to S$15,000. I was very worried that my insurance coverage would not be sufficient to pay for it. To make things worse, on my way home that day, I had another fall on the wet floor of a convenience store. The pain was so intense that I cried. My wife immediately rushed me back to the hospital and I was given an injection to relieve the pain. This time my severely injured foot was put in a cast. Unfortunately, because of this injury, I lost the new job. I was deeply distressed, and even asked my pastor, “Why did all these things happen?” One night, I heard a voice telling me to fast and pray. I had never done it before but I knew I had to trust and obey the voice I heard. With that I began praying and fasting, continuing over the next five consecutive days. The first day of fasting and praying was extremely difficult for me. I wondered how I was going to survive this as I recalled Pastor Carmelo telling me that the second day would be the hardest. Nevertheless, I persisted on to seek God’s presence. On the second day, the struggle to fast and pray grew more intense. But I knew I had to press on in the process. I saw the doctor on the same day and asked to be referred to a restructured hospital to cut down on the medical cost. That night, my wife and I prayed sincerely for God’s divine provision. On the 3rd day, we met the specialist at National University Hospital (NUH) and learned that our family insurance coverage could possibly cover all surgical expenses. The specialist even 32

“Why did all these things happen?” prepared a letter requesting the Immigration Checkpoint Authority (ICA) for a 90-day extension of stay to be granted so that I would have time to recover and look for a better job. On the fourth day of fasting, we received a Letter of Guarantee from our insurance company confirming the coverage of all my surgical expenses. On top of that, my wife received her “5-Year Long Service Award” cash amount a few months earlier than expected, and just when we needed it! I was moved, and absolutely astounded by the greatness of our Father in Heaven. On the last day of my fasting, we went to ICA to submit the documents for my extended stay in Singapore. An ICA Supervisor saw me and granted me a 90-day Special Pass right away. God had turned things around for me in just five days! I underwent surgery the following week, and recovered well. The convenience store also reimbursed all my medical-related expenses, including taxi fares, and compensated nearly six months of my salary. This was all beyond my expectations! Shortly after, I got a new job with good pay at a company that helped us bring our young daughter to stay with us in Singapore from the Philippines. Through it all, I’ve grown in trusting God and have seen how He opens doors and provides miraculously. All glory to God, our Father!

God

Hears

My Prayers! The prayerful heart of Genevieve Teh, aged 10, is not too faint to go unnoticed by God. With complete faith, she called out to God in prayer and experienced God’s touch upon her granduncle’s life.

Genevieve Teh, 10 years old It was the first day of children’s camp when Pastor Priscilla shared with us that we can see God’s majesty through Him working miracles in and through our lives. When an altar call was given for those who needed healing for their family members, I remembered that my granduncle was in the hospital and I knew that he had not received Christ yet, so I responded to the altar call and prayed for him. After camp that day, my mom and I visited my granduncle. In the hospital, the doctor shared my granduncle's condition with my mom and my granduncle. It sounded quite serious. After the doctor left, I listened as my mom shared the good news with my granduncle. I started praying in my heart that he would receive Christ.

With tears in his eyes, my granduncle said without hesitation, “Yes!”. Praise the Lord! the news. It was then that God prompted me to share with him the hope that one can have in Christ. Unbeknownst to me, Genevieve was praying for my uncle's salvation at the children's camp just moments before we went to visit him at the hospital. God’s message at the camp was a timely word for her, and she immediately witnessed God’s miracle working through her prayers. Though we were exhausted from the camp and were deliberating if we should still visit my uncle, God continually prompted us to go. Thankfully we decided to obey, if not we would have missed this precious opportunity! At the end of her sharing, my mom asked my granduncle if he would like to receive Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. With tears in his eyes, my granduncle said without hesitation, "Yes!". Praise the Lord! God is indeed amazing! Amen!

Nancy Teh, Genevieve’s mother My uncle is from a traditional and conservative family. He has always preferred to follow the gods of his ancestors and regarded Christianity as a western faith and a trend among younger generations. Whenever I try to share the gospel with my uncle, he would stop me and say hesitantly, “Next time, next time.” My mother, who is his sister, also constantly encouraged him to believe in Christ, even though she was a pre-believer then. (I call her the pre-believing evangelist!) However, we would always get the same response from him.

Genevieve has been deeply impacted after experiencing first-hand the power of prayer and the joy of answered prayers. She was still bubbling with joy and excitement the next day, and could not stop smiling or talking to me about it! Ever since, Genevieve has become more intentional in her prayers, takes the initiative and seizes every opportunity to pray. She prays with an expectant heart too, carrying that intimate knowledge that God indeed hears and answers prayers according to His will and plans.

When the doctor discussed his condition with us, there was a sense of helplessness and hopelessness in his eyes. This condition did not come as a surprise to him as my mother had the same condition six months ago before God, in His mercy, took her home. My uncle tried to hold back his tears but was visibly shaken by the reality of 33

ENVISION

THE YEAR OF

Jubilee

Watchnight Message 2014 By Senior Pastor Dominic Yeo

God has been leading Trinity on a journey. Since 2007, we have been talking about building a culture of Care and Connect. 2008 saw us crossing into a new season of New Beginnings. In 2009, God invited us into Abundant Living and we learned from God in 2010 how to be Blessed to be a Blessing. This served us well in 2011, when God challenged us to move from Potential to Fulfillment. In 2012, we broke through to new levels of faith as we stepped out in Apostolic Faith for Apostolic Fulfillment, and in 2013, God invited us to draw nearer into His presence to Encounter God, receive a revelation and experience transformation that would lead us to Kingdom Alignment for Kingdom Assignments in 2014. The year 2015 is a significant year in Singapore: While the nation celebrates her 50th birthday, the Church will be commemorating the latest Jubilee Year as per the Hebrew calendar. 50 years is a time of great significance in the Bible. Leviticus 25 in the Bible tells us the year of Jubilee occurs once every 50 years. It is known by many names: the year of liberty, the year of the Lord’s good pleasure, the year of release, the year of the Lord’s favor, the year of the Lord’s rest and restoration, and the acceptable year of the Lord. In this year of Jubilee, we should recognize that God is still leading us on this journey to continually be dedicated to Him and His Word, to lay hold of the blessings and the fulfillment of God’s promises. To understand the spiritual significance of the Year of Jubilee and how it impacts us, we need to look at Leviticus 25 in more detail:

The Year of Jubilee 8 “‘Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years. 9 Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. 10 Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan. 11 The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines. 12 For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields… 18 “‘Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land. 19 Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety. 20 You may ask, “What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?” 21 I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. 22 While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in. 35

ENVISION WATCHNIGHT MESSAGE 2014

THE YEAR OF

As we can see from Leviticus 25, God calls us to consecrate the 50th year – “for it shall be a jubilee for you”. The Biblical passage speaks of a “land Sabbath”, where the land rests in the seventh year (Leviticus 25:17). After seven blocks of seven years – i.e. 49 years – there is to be a double land Sabbath and a “social Sabbath” in the 50th year (Leviticus 25:8-55), where there is a cancellation of all debts and a time of liberty, restoration and rest for the people. We may wonder if this ancient law given to the Israelites has any significance for us Christians in modern times. Why do we go to church every week? It’s because God calls us to keep the weekly Sabbath and to set it apart for him. This is modeled after God’s creation of the world, when he rested on the seventh day after working for six days. In Romans 11, the apostle Paul also tells us how we (as Gentiles) are grafted into the family of God. As such, we are able to be partakers in the promises found in God’s Word as well as abide by the instructions given in God’s Word. And therefore, the year of Jubilee applies equally to us – children of God through faith in Jesus Christ – with prophetic significance. In fact the very first scripture Jesus read in his first public ministry was the proclamation of the year of the Lord’s favor. Recorded for us in Luke 4:14-21, Jesus went into the synagogue and was handed the Scroll of Isaiah to read. This is now Isaiah chapter 61:1-2 in our Bibles.

Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Jesus began his ministry with a clear reference to the year of Jubilee. Right after Jesus proclaims that it is the year of the Lord’s favor in Luke 4:21, it is recorded that He said, “Today, this is fulfilled in your hearing”. This is the passage that marked the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. He was declaring that the kingdom of God was now here – a declaration of kingdom alignment for kingdom assignment. This was his mission statement during his time on earth. After proclaiming this, he went on to bring about deliverance from sin, sickness and Satan to multitudes who were bound and afflicted. This passage reveals four important points about what this proclamation means for us. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me…” First, we need the Holy Spirit to overshadow us. If we want to see the manifold blessings of God released in our lives, we need to subject

We can will ourselves to obey, or resist the Holy Spirit

ourselves to encountering and following God in this year of Jubilee. We need to come under the subjection of God, and experience His freedom and liberty. To do so, we need a continual alignment with God. This is not a one-off experience, but a lifelong alignment to seek Him and have the Spirit of the Lord upon us. In the Old Testament, we see through the lives of men such as Samson, Saul and David, that the sovereign Lord allowed the Spirit to come upon persons. But the Spirit of the Lord came and went not at their choice, but by the sovereignty of God. However, with the new covenant, under which you and I belong, we receive God’s grace and the Holy Spirit through faith. Every believer of Christ Jesus has the Holy Spirit living in us. Unlike in the Old Testament, we can choose to obey or resist the Holy Spirit in our lives. We can will ourselves to obey, or resist the Holy Spirit. When we yield our will to His leading, we allow Him to work in our lives. When we subject ourselves to Him, obey His leading, and encounter Him in worship and word, we come into alignment that will release the manifold blessings of the Jubilee Year.

Will you choose to have the Spirit of God upon you today? “…because He has anointed me…” Second, we need to live as anointed ones. With the Spirit of the Lord upon us, God anoints us. We may think that Luke 4 refers only to the anointing upon Jesus. But Acts 1:8 tells us that you and I “shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon [us]”. The Holy Spirit comes upon us to anoint us. To be anointed means that God clothes and covers us. He wraps Himself over us, permeating our very being. We’re not merely “wearing” God on the outside. Acts 1:8 tells us that we shall “receive power” when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. Power speaks of authority – in the authority is the power! John 1:12 tells us that “to everyone who believes in Christ Jesus, He gives them the right to become children of God”. We need to live as children of God! We have to realize the significance and privilege of God’s anointing upon us, and stop living like a defeated one! He has made us more than overcomers in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:37) – we are the head and not the tail (Deuteronomy 28:13)! Living as anointed ones means we align ourselves to what He says to us and about us, and not what someone else says about us.

Living as anointed ones means we align ourselves to what He says to us and about us, and not what someone else says about us.

Living as anointed ones means we confess faith, hope and the future that we have in God. What have we been confessing with our mouths? Rather than continually confessing negativity, why not confess the Word of God? Remember that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). Faith doesn’t come by hearing criticism or negativism. We need to start living as anointed ones and confess the Word of God as well as what it says we are in Him. Live as God’s anointed in this Jubilee Year! “…to proclaim…” Third, we need to do the work of proclamation. In Luke 4, there are four action words used, all of which refer to verbal expression. Isaiah 61, as read by Jesus in Luke 4, speaks of an anointing to “preach the gospel”, to “proclaim liberty”, to “release the oppressed”, and to “proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord”.

ENVISION WATCHNIGHT MESSAGE 2014

The Scriptures tell us to proclaim the freedom, good news, liberty, recovery, release, and the year of the Lord’s favor.

These are all words that mean ‘to announce’ or ‘to herald’. The word ‘herald’ is of French origin, meaning ‘army general’. In the old days, the herald was a high-ranking army officer who rode into town to announce and proclaim significant events and what was happening in the country. The people of the town recognized him as the voice of authority. Similarly, God calls us to be the ‘herald’ in our communities, especially in this year of Jubilee. He calls us to live as anointed ones. Clothed with authority, we are to speak about and announce what is about to happen and to believe that the Spirit of God will render that to pass. What do we announce? The Scriptures tell us to proclaim the freedom, good news, liberty, recovery, release, and the year of the Lord’s favor. Who do we announce these to? To the spiritually poor, the spiritually blind, the spiritually oppressed, and the spiritually needy. At our last Christmas event, I was very excited to see the family members of many of our

pastors and congregation come to know Christ through Trinity’s presentation. There are many more who need to hear the good news of salvation. This is the year – as we proclaim the good news and freedom found in Christ, let us believe that many will receive the Lord into their hearts. It is also important that in this Jubilee Year, we not only reach out spiritually to bring others into the church, but also step out into our community. We can do so through, the Care Community Services Society (CCSS), our local missions organization that serves the people in our community. Additionally, through our international missions program, Trinity has been involved in Project Rescue, a program that reaches out to victims of human trafficking worldwide. This is why God anoints us! Not just so that we can enjoy the breakthroughs and blessings in our own personal lives, but also for us to do the work of proclamation and be used by Him to set people free! His anointing for miracles, signs and wonders is upon each of us. We have been anointed to be a voice in our communities and spheres of influence. There are many different ways we can and should proclaim Jesus to the emotionally, physically and socially oppressed. Remember that God saves us not just to bless us, but so we can touch a dying world.

“…the Year of the Lord’s favor.” Lastly, we need to release the favor, blessing and restoration of God. Leviticus 25 tells us that in the 49th and 50th year, the Jubilee Year, the people of Israel cannot sow and harvest or work to make the land fertile. They should only rely on God’s favor upon them to smile on the land and cause it to be fruitful. Imagine if you were to stop work and all investments for two years, would you not worry that you may not have enough? But that’s exactly what God instructed the Israelites to do – they had to simply rest and fully trust in the Lord’s provision. And as God smiles on the land, the land produces and provides abundantly for the Israelites in those three years. In the same way, this will be a year of great favor and blessing as we enter into God’s rest. Apart from favor, it’s also a time when all debts are written off! What does this mean for us? In many of our lives, we have made bad decisions, taken wrong turns and done stupid things that we can’t see the way out of. You may feel as if you are locked and chained to your circumstances. But God wants to set you free, write off those debts and press the reset button for us to have a fresh start in Him. More than enjoying the rest, favor and writing off of our debts as believers in the Lord, God wants us to proclaim and release this same blessing to those around us. As Christians who experience

the redemptive work of God, we must step out and bless those around us. We are blessed to be a blessing! The blessings of grace, forgiveness, favor, love and many other gifts we have received from God need to go beyond the walls of the Church and be seen and heard outside. This year, I am calling Trinitarians to trumpet and proclaim God’s goodness and freedom through the Jubilee50K challenge – where we proclaim His favor by performing 10 acts of blessings to people around us. Remember His Spirit is on us because He has anointed us to preach the good news to the

poor. He has sent us to proclaim freedom for prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor! This isn’t just for us as believers. We need to will our wills to His commands, live our lives as sons and daughters of the Most High because He has anointed us and do the work of proclamation that will release the favor, blessing and restoration of God. Let this Jubilee Year be a celebration of what the Lord will do in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

Pastor Dominic Yeo is the Senior Pastor of Trinity Christian Centre. Listen to His sermons at www.trinity.sg/media/sermons

Read how you can proclaim the Year of the Lord’s favor through the Jubilee50K Challenge on p44.

ENVISION

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed to proclaim

free,

the year of the Lord’s favor. As we celebrate Singapore’s re’s 50th birthday, we also trumpet the year of Jubilee avor – – the year of the Lord’s favor brew as it is marked in the Hebrew calendar. What exactly is the nd #Jubilee50K Challenge and how can you be a part of it? Read on to find out.

What is the #Jubilee50K Challenge? nge? While the word ‘jubilee’ is often thought hought of as closely linked to the word ‘jubilation’, in reality both words have nothing to do with each other. Yobel, the Hebrew brew equivalent of ‘jubilee’, means ‘trumpet sound’. The #Jubilee50K Challenge was organized for this purpose – to trumpet 50,000 acts of blessing through hrough social media. Why do we want to post our acts cts of blessings on social media? • To proclaim the Year of the Lord’s ord’s Favor As we trumpet on social media about the blessings we have given, we are collectively declaring ring as a church the year of the Lord’s favor among our family, ily, friends and community. Read more about the year of Jubilee p34. bilee on p34 41

ENVISION #JUBILEE50K CHALLENGE

• To nurture the culture of being an Intentional Blesser Part of our Care & Connect culture as Trinitarians is to meet a need when we find one. The #Jubilee50k challenge is about taking the concept of blessing one step further – to become an intentional blesser and change the community around you in partnership with the Holy Spirit.

How can I be a part of the

Imagine what would happen if we sought God and allowed Him to use us as His instruments to perform everyday miracles? To be that link between heaven and earth? Let’s arise in faith and believe for God encounters as we allow ourselves to be Jesus’ hands and feet! • To transform the social media landscape In a world where negative criticism on social media garner the most likes and bad news make up the majority headlines, the #Jubilee50K challenge is an opportunity for believers to stand out as a light amidst the darkness. Matthew 5:14-16 exhorts us to let our light shine before men, that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven. Let us not be worried about what others may think of us. After all, social media isn’t used only to share what’s on your mind, it is also a platform for us to spread love, good deeds and testimonies of what God done through us. Let us give God the glory!

CHALLENGE

Step 1: Bless someone Proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor Step 2: Trumpet each blessing Share each blessing on social media with the hashtag #Jubilee50K Step 3: Nominate three others After you have done 10 acts of blessing, nominate three others to do the #Jubilee50K Challenge.

You can view more blessings from the #Jubilee50K Challenge at www.tagboard.com 43

ENVISION #JUBILEE50K CHALLENGE

You can view more blessings from the #Jubilee50K Challenge at www.tagboard.com 45

ENVISION #JUBILEE50K CHALLENGE

What kind of

trumpeter are you? Take this quiz to find out!

1. The name of the challenge is: A. #Jubs50K B. #Jubilee 50K C. Julilee50k D. #Jubilee50K 2. The word ‘jubilee’ means __________ in Hebrew: A. Trumpet sound B. Happiness C. 50th year D. Children’s voices 3. The #Jubilee50K Challenge is about: A. Challenging a girl named Jubi Lee to run 50km B. Telling others on social media what a blessing you have been C. Trumpeting 50,000 acts of blessings in the name of our Lord through social media D. Doing 50 acts of kindness to celebrate Singapore’s 50th birthday

4. A hashtag is a: A. Game people play with ‘X’s and ‘O’s (e.g. tic tac toe) B. Sign used before the subject within your post on social media (e.g. #wearetrinitarians) C. Button you press on your phone (e.g. press # to go back to the previous page) D. All of the above 5. Which of the following is not part of the three steps of the #Jubilee50K Challenge? A. Bless someone B. Get at least 10 likes per post C. Share 10 acts of blessing on social media D. Nominate three others 6. I choose to be part of the #Jubilee50K Challenge because A. Everyone is talking about it B. The world needs to know how I have blessed others C. I want to join the church in declaring the year of the Lord’s favor D. My cell leader told me to

7. Being an Intentional Blesser means: A. Helping my younger sibling do his or her homework B. Giving away loose change when someone approaches you with a donation can C. Partnering with the Holy Spirit to change the community around me D. A and B 8. We post our acts of blessings on social media: A. To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor B. To take up the role of being an Intentional Blesser C. To transform the social media landscape D. All of the above

12. Which of the following statements is correct? A. I can post each act of blessing when I have done it B. I may do all ten acts without posting C. I am only able to post my acts of blessing on Facebook D. Every post needs an image 13. When nominating someone, I may choose A. A Trinitarian B. My neighbor C. My colleague D. All of the above

9. I don’t have a social media account, but I can participate in the challenge by: A. Creating a social media account B. Asking someone with a social media account to post on my behalf C. SMS <blessings> to 79777 D. A or B

14. Which one of the following statements is incorrect? A. The #Jubilee50K Challenge is a team challenge B. More information on the #Jubilee50K Challenge may be found online, at www.trinity.sg/Jubilee50K C. I may start the challenge any time D. If I have received five nominations, I need to do 10 acts of blessings

10. Everyone can view your post on social media if your privacy setting is set to: A. Friends only B. Relatives only C. Public D. Friends of Friends only

15. I am not on social media, but I may nominate three others via A. SMS B. Facebook C. Twitter D. Instagram

11. Which of the following statements is true? A. The act of blessing can be extraordinary; a miracle B. The act of blessing can be a meaningful act that blesses the recipient C. The act of blessing can involve food, a car ride and spending money D. All of the above

16. I have completed 10 acts of blessing, I should now: A. Inform my cell leader B. Nominate three others to take part in the challenge and carry on the lifestyle of blessing others C. Help other Trinitarians complete their challenge by ask them to bless me D. Redeem my #Jubilee50K free gift

10. C

9. D

2. A

1. D

Answer key:

11. D 3. C

12. A 4. B

13. D 5. B

14. A 6. C

15. A 7. C

16. B 8. D

If you got: 8 points and below – you’re a trumpeter-in-training! 9-12 points – you’re a fledgling trumpeter! 13-16 points – you’re a first-class trumpeter!

HEARTBEAT

AN OVERVIEW OF TRINITY’S MISSIONS FROM JAN TO DEC 2014

MISSIONS DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

MISSIONS AT A GLANCE

MISSIONS REPORT 2014

THANK YOU TRINITARIANS FOR GOING TO THE NATIONS!

THE WHOLE GOSPEL FOR THE WHOLE WORLD

MENTORING PASTORS

FROM CLASSROOM TO PULPIT

PARTNERSHIP ENRICHES, ENABLES AND EMPOWERS

HEARTBEAT HEARTBEAT

DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE Dear Trinitarians, I want to thank you for praying, giving and going on missions over the past year. It brings me great joy to know that not only did many Trinitarians continue their service in missions in 2014, 81 also went on a missions trip for the first time. Some were involved in humanitarian work, while others proclaimed the gospel boldly. Each one of them has a story to tell, some of which you can read about in this issue. Missions is more than just about sharing the gospel. It’s about considering the WHOLE GOSPEL as well as humanitarian work. If we ignore the social needs of the world we would have ignored the command of God’s word, and if we ignore the proclamation of the gospel, then we have nothing to offer to the world. This is the reason for reaching out to destitute children, and the objective of Project Rescue – to save women from being victims of human trafficking for prostitution. As we call people to love and accept the Good News, we should also proclaim the gospel and demonstrate it through tangible actions. You can be a part of this by going on a missions trip. I encourage everyone, especially Trinitarians who have yet to go on a missions trip, to sign up for one this year. Experience and see for yourself and tell your own story of what God will do in and through your life. Believe me, you will never be the same again!

AT A GLANCE STATISTICS FOR JAN - DEC 2014

GO – MISSIONS IMPACT TEAMS (MITs)

10 7

Countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand)

Humanitarian MITs

Trinitarians going for the first time

262 Trinitarians

Healings

Evangelistic MITs

2,741 Decisions

GO – TRAINING AND CONSULTATION TRIPS

Trips

Countries (Bulgaria, China, Columbia, Japan, Poland, Romania, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Spain, USA, Vietnam)

GIVE

1,136

Destitute children In Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand sponsored

Ministries supported

Children discontinued from home/ school

Children graduated from home/school

HEARTBEAT

IIn n 2014, Trinity continued tto o carry out God’s h heartbeat for the nations th through its Church

Development D and an nd d Community Deve Development e arms, while Tr Trinitaria aria an continued to pray and Trinitarians give gi g ve genero u generously toward the church’s M iissions. ssions. Som Some e 260 Trinitarians were also Missions. pa of the Mission part Missions Impact Teams (MITs), Missions which travelled ac which acros ss 10 countries to share the across love ove of God God. They pre preached the gospel, healed the sick and conducted medical camps, bringing hope to many.

Church Development

Community Development

(Helping churches transform by impacting their ministries, ministers and members)

(Helping to rebuild communities and helping them experience the love of Christ through tangible acts of love)

The highlight of the first quarter of 2014 was the Pastors’ Conference, with more than 300 delegates from 20 nations gathering in Trinity for the three-day conference. Many of the delegates testified of how they had been blessed and empowered to bring their churches and ministries to the next level.

Trinity seeks to give destitute children an opportunity to know Jesus and to be developed to their fullest potential. One of the highlights of our missions activities last year was the official opening of our children’s homes – The Champions@ Chiangmai City and The Champions@Maerim in Thailand. These homes provide a safe place called home to more than 50 children. Read more about our Champions on p56.

Additionally, Trinity pastors went on training and consultation trips to equip churches with the skills to grow their carecells as well as strengthen their faith. The pastors travelled to a variety of nations, including Bulgaria, China, Columbia, Japan, Poland, Romania, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Spain, U.S.A. and Vietnam. We also cofunded church buildings in five villages in India. Trinity continued to be a blessing to the Filipinos, Indonesians, Japanese, Spanish-speaking and Thais through her language ministries.

Including these two homes, we now have 1,136 sponsored children, expanding sponsorship to two new countries, Indonesia and Myanmar. We also rejoice with the 23 children that have graduated from these sponsorship programmes. We also supported various ministries such as Project Rescue, a ministry that aims to rescue and restore victims of sex slavery through the love and power of Jesus Christ. Read more about this area of missions on p62. The Missions Impact Teams were also involved in rebuilding houses and medical camps in Padang, Indonesia and India respectively. A team of teachers went to our children’s homes in Thailand and taught English as a second language. Read more about how education plays a role in missions on p58. At home, about 152 Trinitarians got involved in the regular activities of Care Community Society Singapore – Senior Activity Club, Carehuts, d’klub, Youth and Prison programs, Corporate Communications and Café Express. Two Missions Impact Teams of 12 and 10 Trinitarians blessed the elderly and children in the CARElderly Seniors Activity Centre and Carehuts respectively over three days.

HEARTBEAT

Thank you Trinitarians

for Going to the Nations! Indeed the impact made through our Missions Impact Teams (MITs) in these lives will never be the same again.

Bangladesh

When: Mar 25 - 31

People we blessed: 1,303 lives touched, 7 decisions made for Christ

People we blessed: 497 lives touched,

Hyderabad, India When: Jul 21 - 28 People we blessed: 634 lives touched

Cambodia

When: Mar 25 - 31

134 decisions made for Christ

Haryana, India When: Nov 4 - 11 People we blessed: 1,730 lives touched, 96 decisions made for Christ

Hyderabad, India When: Jul 1 - 8 People we blessed: 1,164 lives touched, 272 decisions made for Christ

Kurnool, India When: Dec 1 - 8 People we blessed: 2,986 lives touched, 521 decisions made for Christ, 2 healings recorded

MONGOLIA

TAIWAN

THAILAND INDIA

CAMBODIA

BANGLADESH MYAMMAR PHILIPINES

SINGAPORE

Padang, Indonesia

When: May 7 - 14 People we blessed: 220 families and 121 children touched, 5 houses built

When: Nov 18 - 24 People we blessed: 150 lives touched, 5 houses built

Myanmar When: May 28 - Jun 3 People we blessed: 284 lives touched, 199 decisions made for Christ

Mongolia When: Oct 2 - 8 People we blessed: 60 lives touched, 8 decisions made for Christ

Yogyakarta, Indonesia When: Jun 17 - 23 People we blessed: 500 lives touched, 25 decisions made for Christ

Iloilo, Philippines When: May 26 - Jun 2 People we blessed: 1,119 decisions made for Christ, 5 healings recorded

HEARTBEAT

Thank you Trinitarians

for Going to the Nations!

Iloilo, Philippines When: Dec 17 - 23 People we blessed: 6,177 lives touched, 2,941 decisions made for Christ, 25 healings recorded

Singapore When: Nov 27 - 29 People we blessed: 48 lives touched

Singapore When: Jun 24 - 26 People we blessed: 50 lives touched

Taipei, Taiwan When: Jul 1 - 8 People we blessed: 367 lives touched, 26 decisions made for Christ

Singapore When: Aug 3, 10 & 17 People we blessed: 92 lives touched, 62 decisions

Kaoshiung, Taiwan When: Jul 7 - 14 People we blessed: 100 lives touched, 44 decisions made for Christ

MONGOLIA

TAIWAN

THAILAND INDIA

CAMBODIA

BANGLADESH MYAMMAR PHILIPINES

SINGAPORE

Yi Lan, Taiwan When: Aug 5 - 11 People we blessed: 100 lives touched, 70 decisions made for Christ

Chiangmai, Thailand When: May 19 - 24 People we blessed: 54 Children

Chiang Mai, Thailand When: Sep 10 - 16 People we blessed: 300 lives touched, 60 decisions made for Christ, 12 healings recorded

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chiangrai, Thailand

Chiang Mai, Thailand

When: Oct 9 - 15 People we blessed: 300 lives touched, 5 decisions made for Christ

When: Dec 3 - 9 People we blessed: 443 lives touched, 85 decisions made for Christ

When: Dec 12 - 16 People we blessed: 500 lives touched, 4 decisions made for Christ 57

HEARTBEAT

THE WHOLE

What is Missions?

a) Is it preaching John 3:16 to people who have not heard of the gospel?

b) Is it carrying out the evangelistic mandate as in Acts 1:8 where we are called to be God’s witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth?

c) Is it clothing the poor brother, feeding the hungry, looking after the sick etc. (Matthew 25:35-40)? The answer is all of the above...and more.

What does God expect of us Christians? More than just believing in Him, God calls us to be His partners in changing our world, just as He called the 12 disciples to change their world 2,000 years ago. Our world is definitely in need of change – just look at the acts of terrorism, ethnic and religious tensions, widespread hunger and poverty, natural disasters, epidemics, and even human trafficking and slavery that occur globally. It’s easy to say, “Out of sight, out of mind”. But as Christians, how can we turn away from the problems of the world? Have we

either be ‘for evangelism’, opening doors for evangelism or ‘in evangelism’, as a result of evangelism to meet the needs of people. Rather than an end in itself, the meeting of social needs should result in discipleship to meet the objective of missions. This gospel – the whole gospel – means much more than the personal salvation of individuals. The salvation of the soul in itself does not miraculously bring food or clean water to those in need. The whole gospel is a social revolution. At the start of Jesus’ public ministry, he read from the scroll of Isaiah

PEL become so detached that we can afford to be indifferent to images of poverty and adversity that constantly bombard us? Our apathy has even earned its own term: compassion fatigue. We cannot claim that we don’t know our distant neighbor is in need – not anymore, not today. Missions comprises two areas: the gospel, and social action. Any social action should

as recorded in Luke 4:14-21. This was Jesus’ mission statement, and in it we see how he came to preach the good news, as well as bind the brokenhearted, bring about the recovery of sight for the blind and proclaim freedom for the prisoners and the oppressed. Proclaiming the WHOLE gospel was the mission of Jesus. And if this was Jesus’ mission, it should also be our mission as His Church.

How is Trinity involved in proclaiming the WHOLE gospel? 59

HEARTBEAT HEARTBEAT

PROVIDING

QUALITY EDUCATION DID YOU KNOW? The 67.4 million children globally who are out of school are likely to encounter great difficulties in the future, as deficient or non-existent basic education is the root cause of illiteracy, which is a hindrance to gainful employment that will help them break out of poverty. (Source: UNESCO statistics) Research published by UNESCO, the United Nations’ educational, scientific and cultural body, suggests that 175 million young people lack even basic literacy skills. “Access [to education] is not the only crisis – poor quality is holding back learning even for those who make it to school,” said UNESCO director-general, Irina Bokova. An estimated 250 million children are not learning basic reading and maths skills even though half of them have spent at least four years in school.

Education provides children with the opportunity to break out from the cycle of poverty. Families that live in extreme poverty often see school as an impossible cost. Here’s why: • Direct cost of sending children to school • Indirect cost of losing a source of labor • Low-quality education, so parents cannot see the benefits of education Source: World Education Blog, https://efareport.wordpress.com

As a consequence, not only are children from poor families less likely to enrol in primary school, but those who do so are more likely to drop out. This is why poverty is a vicious cycle.

HEARTBEAT HEARTBEAT PROVIDING QUALITY EDUCATION

Education is important because it helps to eradicate poverty and hunger. It gives people knowledge and skills, opening doors to jobs that can help them live better lives. Each additional year of schooling increases an individual’s earnings by up to 10 percent, and for each additional year of secondary school, an individual’s wages increase by 15 to 25 percent. Earning a high school diploma can help break the cycle of multi-generational poverty, but persistent poverty makes earning that diploma a tough challenge1. When you feed a child, you make it possible for her to learn. And when you make it possible for her to learn, you make it possible for her to feed herself and her family for years to come. Carrying God’s passionate heartbeat to preach the Whole Gospel to children around the world includes making quality education available and accessible. Trinity has been sponsoring destitute children since 2009. In 2014, God opened the door for us to Indonesia and Myanmar, two new nations for child sponsorship. By the end of the year, the number of children Trinity was sponsoring had grown

to 1,136, including children in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand. We also built our own children’s homes in collaboration with local partners in Thailand in 2014, opening two new homes, The Champions@Chiangmai City and The Champions@Maerim. Our ambassadors Pastor Sandie Kwek, Steven and Rita Leng, Cal-lin Neubronner have also uprooted themselves from the comforts of their homes in Singapore to minister to about 60 children in Thailand. They willingly do so because they desire to bring the whole gospel to the children and guide them to embrace the values of being a Champion for God, knowing and being who they are in Christ. Understanding the importance of quality education, Trinity also launched a Missions Impact Team (MIT) for educators, comprising of educators giving their time and using their talent to teach the children living in these homes. Our first Education MIT, made up of 13 educators, went to Chiangmai, Thailand during the school holidays in December to teach English. “When we

interacted with the children at the homes, we realized they had only a loose grasp of the English language. Our children need to have more opportunities to use and make sense of the English language and other subjects too,” says Jennifer Oliveiro, one of the educators in the team. Patricia shares, “Some of the children showed good progress. When we first came, they were unable to sight read new vocabulary and had no confidence to describe them in a sentence. However after the exercises we put them through, they could independently read the words and some could describe the words in a sentence structure.” Sophie Ng, another educator on the team who was making her maiden missions trip shares, “The main purpose of the trip was to show God’s love through the provision of the English Language Program. I was surprised and filled with joy when God used us to minister to the children and lead more of them to Christ. I learnt that it doesn’t matter what spiritual level or what stage our relationship with God is to go on a missions trip. God can and will use us!”

You too can make a difference by praying! Pray For Children • Calling – know God intimately and fulfill their God-given destiny. • Character – live lives that demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit. • Competencies – grow to full maturity – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

Pray For Caregivers • To be godly examples and raise them up in the ways of the Lord

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics

BREAKING THE CHAINS OF

DID YOU KNOW? • Human trafficking has exploded into a multi-billion dollar global industry, with sexual trafficking constituting a major part of it. The INTERPOL estimates that the money generated by sex trafficking alone is $19 billion a year. • The International Labor Organization estimates that there are 12.3 million people in modern day slavery, including sexual exploitation, at any given time. • India has four million women who have been prostituted. More than 40% of them are HIV positive, 35% of them are below 18 years of age and most of them were forced into sexual slavery between the ages of 12 and 15 years. • Children are not exempt from this atrocity. UNICEF’s executive director estimates that 1.2 million children are trafficked each year. 63

HEARTBEAT BREAKING THE CHAINS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

It’s too easy to reduce girls caught in prostitution to simply statistics. But God knows each one by name. And He loves each one of them. He calls them His daughters. Here’s the true story of a daughter rescued.

‘THE DAY MY BROTHER BROKE THE RAKHI’ EXCERPT FROM CAGE, THE HORROR AND THE HOPE

Rakhi is a Hindu festival that celebrates the love and duty between brothers and sisters. In preparation for the Rakhi, Rekha (name changed) was buying gifts for her brothers when her adopted brother intercepted and invited her to attend a function at his college in Birgunj, a city on the Nepal-India border. She joined him on the bus, but several hours into the journey, he

drugged her with a drink, which put her in a comatose state. Of course, the college function at Birgunj was simply a pretext for something more sinister. Rekha’s brother wanted to sell her into sex slavery. Maintaining her compliance with regular doses of drugs, he took her to Mumbai by bus and train. Disoriented and only

semi-conscious, Rekha could remember little of the journey and lost all sense of time. On arrival in the city, she was taken to the home of a woman who purported to be his sister. “Stay with my sister today,” he insisted, “and I will come for you tomorrow and take you to my college function.” She never saw him again. On the following day, she was taken to the red-light area of Kamathipura and kept in a tiny room. “There was no place to stand,” she remembers. “It was full of darkness…a terrible place.” Drugs were administered each day to keep Rekha malleable. She slept most of the time, but in intermittent periods of consciousness, the drugs fragmented reality into a collage of disconnected images. This seven-day drug delirium was designed to negate Rekha’s sense of self and weaken her resolve. When the madam felt that Rekha was ready, she callously broke the news: “You have been sold by your brother for 50,000 rupees. Now you have to work here to pay back the money.” “I felt such a blow,” related Rekha,“I tried to hurt myself; I tried to commit suicide.” Trapped and with no way of escape, Rekha was forced to work as a sex slave. “I tried very hard to refuse it with folded hands,” she said. “I pleaded, ‘I do not want to do this. Please let me out; free me…’ I would touch and hold

The Whole Gospel includes rescuing and restoring victims of sex slavery. In 2014, Trinity partnered with Project Rescue and sent a team to minister to the victims that were rescued from prostitution. their feet and cry. ‘I am like your daughter.’ I cried a lot, but they had no pity on me.” When she attempted to escape, the madam dragged her back to the customers and forced her to have sex. Rekha was now a commodity to be sold. “I had to do the work. My life was destroyed.” The transformation in Rekha’s fortunes began when she met Devaraj and the Bombay Teen Challenge team. Devaraj visited her brothel and prayed for Rekha and her madam regularly. The madam was so impressed by his concern that she became a frequent attendee at the Saturday BTC meeting in Nagpada. As she listened to simple talks about God’s love and forgiveness, she experienced a dramatic change in her attitude to the sex trade. She told Rekha, “You were the last girl I bought. I will not buy and destroy the life of any other girl.” Soon after this conversation, the madam allowed Rekha to return home.

You too can make a difference by praying! Pray For Enslaved Victims • Freedom and rescue from slavery • Receive spiritual, emotional and physical wholeness • Continued safety and reintegration to their families and communities Pray For Frontline Workers Who Fight Against Human Trafficking • Safety as they rescue and protect the victims • Tenacity: physical, psychological and spiritual strength Pray For National Leaders • Courage and wisdom to fight against human trafficking Pray For Traffickers • Repentance and turning to Christ

Rekha has forgiven her adopted brother with the strength and love of Jesus. Now, Rekha works with Bombay Teen Challenge to help bring restoration to those whose lives have been broken.

HEARTBEAT

Providing MED CAL AID and

REBUILD NG HO M ES

The first decade of the 21st century saw an unprecedented number of natural disasters worldwide, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2008 earthquake in China Sichuan, 2008 and 2009 floods in India and the 2009 earthquake in Sumatra. Trinity has been involved in two areas of crisis relief work: partnering with trusted agencies to provide for immediate aid such as medical supplies and food packages, and sending in MITs to do humanitarian work such as rebuilding houses and digging bore wells to provide clean water as communities rebuild. Our MITs continue to help rebuild the community long after the crisis is over, as reconstruction often takes many years to complete. One of the places that Trinity is still helping to rebuild is Padang, Indonesia. We have been sending teams to build houses there since 2009. Many times the locals are surprised when they realize that our teams were not made up of professional carpenters.

HEARTBEAT HEARTBEAT PROVIDING MEDICAL AID AND REBUILDING HOMES

Last year, we sent two teams to continue building houses for the people in Padang. Steve Chai, who went on the trip shares, “I did not expect that we could build the houses as we had limited and near-zero carpentry skills.” Jerlyn Koh, a petite member of the team also recalls how the task of building seemed so difficult and impossible because she had never built a house with her bare hands before. Many of the houses in the villages were still in bad shape when the team arrived. There were many villagers who had to stay with relatives or neighbors just to get shelter from the monsoon rains. Team member Daniel Ong rightfully summarized, “Even though we are unable to share the gospel to the people in Padang, I believe our actions overcame the language barrier as well as demonstrated the love of God to them.”

Preaching the whole gospel includes stepping out to meet this need. Trinity partners with local churches to be a blessing to the people in the villages where church-planting work has been done.

Many of the team members agreed on one thing – seeing the joy and happiness of the families and children after we built the homes for them made all the sweat and body aches worth it. As Saint Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the gospel always, when necessary use words.” We had not been able to speak their language, but the villagers had already “heard” the gospel through our actions.

You too can make a difference by praying!

Another area of need that Trinity meets is medical care. Many people in developing countries 68

do not have access to the primary health care they need. While we can easily pick up medication for cough, flus and fevers from a convenience store within a 1KM radius in Singapore, many people in the villages of India have to travel extremely long distances to get the most basic health care. Even if they can travel to get to medical care, most are unable to afford the treatment they need.

Pray for Disadvantaged and Displaced Communities • Physical wholeness – health and healing • Emotional wholeness – restoration from trauma due to natural disasters • Spiritual wholeness – encounter Christ and have peace with God

Here are some reflections from team members who went on a missions trip to Kurnool in 2014. We had the privilege to bring the good news, the love of Christ and His healing into the lives of the poor, weary, sick, outcast and broken-hearted. The doctors on our team definitely opened doors and were a tremendous blessing to the villagers. - Erika Nissa The medical camps not only met the needs of the people, it enabled us to share the gospel, and pray for many villagers in the process. It was a blessing to be able to build the faith of the local church members as we partnered with them in blessing the village that they were a part of. – Tay Ee Guan

TRAINING & CONSULTATION Many get saved through Missions but not all are discipled. This is simply because many churches planted do not have a repeatable cycle and system to reproduce leaders, that in turn disciples many more for the Kingdom of God. The Whole Gospel includes nurturing new believers to become disciples. With a lack of effective discipleship, new converts are unable to grow spiritually. There is a need for effective continual spiritual discipleship to raise up strong leaders that can lead the local churches. Who else is better in reaching out to the locals than the locals themselves! The local pastors and leaders who know the culture, language and traditions of the community are more effective in nurturing and discipling. To meet this need, Trinity became the workshop where God developed the Cell Church Model. The TCC Cell Church Model is an ecosystem for intentional homegrown leadership development, raising spiritual sons and daughters who carry the DNA of the church. Our Senior Pastor is himself a product of this leadership development. As a church, we are blessed with over 60 homegrown pastoral staff and 1,000 lay leaders, with new leaders being added every quarter.

HEARTBEAT HEARTBEAT TRAINNING AND CONSULTATION

Having reaped the benefits of this Cell Church Model, Trinity felt a call and a burden from God to share it with others. We do this by empowering churches to have a repeatable cycle of training everyone to fulfill the Great Commandments and Great Commission. The TCC carecell resources have also been translated into more than 10 languages to serve the churches. Over the years, we have seen a multiplication effect as we train and consult churches all over the world. Transforming the Harvest Field into the Harvest Force.

WHAT DOES TRINITY DO?

12 Countries that we conducted Training and Consultation in 2014: Bulgaria China

Training Modules

Carecell Resources

• Seven Steps To Transforming Your Church

• Book of Life

• Spiritual Parenting Training

• New Steps

• Carecell Leaders training

• New Choices

• Sectional Leaders Training

• New Calling

• Nurturing that Transforms Lives

• Becoming A Person Of Destiny I

• Mastering 5Gs

• Becoming A Person Of Destiny II

• Planning and Navigation Towards Carecell Multiplication

• New Beginnings

• Becoming A Person Of Destiny III

Columbia Japan Poland Romania Sri Lanka Taiwan Thailand Spain USA Vietnam

In 2014, Trinity had the privilege to conduct 36 Training and Consultation trips in 12 countries, to equip churches and leaders. Many of them have testified of numerous breakthroughs and tremendous growth. Here is one of them who has recently completed the full cycle of Training and Consultation. Before Implementing the TCC Cell Church Model Pastor Kaloyan from Breakthrough Christian Centre in Sofia, Bulgaria, was frustrated by the stagnancy of his church. “We lacked a sense of belonging and the real understanding of what community life and support was. Church was simply a Sunday routine with no real interaction and relationships being built among the congregation”, shares Pastor Kaloyan. He heard about our Cell Church Model through Pastor George Bakalov, who attended our Cell Church Conference a few times. Pastor Kaloyan subsequently requested for training and consultation from Trinity to help his church become cell-based.

The Transformation Pastor Kaloyan recalls, “Initially people were skeptical and resistant to change. It took time to motivate them to embrace the Cell Church Model. But God answered our prayers and over time, we saw how the community came together through the carecell system. Real relationships were forged and people started praying for one another. There was a hunger to see salvation taking place.” From the year 2010 to 2014, the church has grown from one leadership carecell and four open carecells to two leadership carecells and nine open carecells. In their Easter outreach in 2013, they experienced a breakthrough in making evangelism a lifestyle. At the outreach they had 300 First Time Visitors who came! This was more than the number of people in their church! Every congregation member had made every effort to bring their family and friends to the church. Church attendance has since grown and the spiritual lives of the members have also been strengthened. Pastor Kaloyan is now ready to help other churches as well as serve as a coordinator for the training and consultation of other churches.

You too can make a difference by praying! Pray for the Churches • To be aligned to God’s purposes and values • To receive the impartation of God’s heart and ministry skills through the trainings and consultations • To experience strong biblical communities, transformed lives, and multiplication through the carecells

IS CARRIED THROUGH THE

THE

knees OF THOSE WHO

(Colossians 4:3)

hands OF THOSE WHO (2 Corinthians 8:1-4) 8:1-

THE

feet OF THOSE WHO (Romans 10:15)

Let us continue to carry God’s passionate heartbeat for the Nations through our Praying, Giving and Going! 72

Pastors People often have the strangest ideas about their pastors. Some think pastors do nothing at all from Monday to Friday, or that they play golf all day. Still others think pastors play the piano and guitar during the week, soaking in the presence of God before they appear before you on the weekends to minister. The truth is most pastors can’t find the time to attend a discipleship conference or grow as a leader. For many churches around the world, it’s usually a one-man show. One pastor runs the weekend services, conducts all the baby dedications, baptisms, weddings and funerals and attends to the spiritual needs of the entire congregation.

These pastors are so busy that they don’t have the time or mind space to think about where God is next leading them in their ministries. They usually also don’t have close spiritual mentors in whom they can confide and often walk a very lonely path.

Pastor Dominic Yeo personally walks alongside these ministers in both their ministerial journey and personal lives as a spiritual mentor.

As part of this program, these ministers are regularly invited to participate in Trinity’s camps or conferences, which provide them A strong leader is essential for a spiritual retreat and help them recharge. In addition, they will get building sturdy churches that the opportunity to learn from the can effect change in nations and vast experience of the leadership communities. This is something that Trinity is passionate about – to at Trinity. provide ministry and mentorship Look out for reports and to church ministers in an inner updates from our M2 pastors circle. in subsequent issues of the magazine, and learn how you To that end, we launched the Ministry and Mentorship (M2) can support them in prayer and program in 2014, where Senior friendship! 73

HEARTBEAT

From CLASSROOM to

PULPIT

Most people who want to be a pastor put themselves through a bible seminary or college to prepare and train themselves for the ministry. However not every Christian leader is able to afford the finances for such training, so TCA College provides these leaders with a scholarship so they can lay the foundation to achieve their dreams. Sharon Lim finds out more.

Nguyen Phuoc An Binh

Levi Aninon

“I was a missionary in Malaysia before coming to TCA,” shared Nguyen Phuoc An Binh from the Assemblies of God in Vietnam. “While I was serving, I realized that I need to be equipped in order to be more effective in my future ministry. That’s when I started searching for bible schools.” “I can still recall how God called me out of my comfort zone two years ago while I was working as a call center agent back in the Philippines,” shared Levi Aninon from the Assemblies of God in the Philippines.

“Back in 2005, I already had an impression that God was calling me into pastoral ministry but I wrestled with Him about it until I finally answered the call in 2012. It was an immediate response to my prayer one afternoon that led me to immediately resign from my job.” His church then took Levi in as a pastor-in-training for six months. The search for a bible school “Along the way I heard about TCA through my pastor,” said Nguyen. “He told me that TCA is a very good theological training center, especially in leadership and

counselling.” Nguyen is now pursuing a Bachelor of Theology at TCA College. “This is my second year in TCA,” he added. “I’ve received even more than what I had expected before coming to TCA. I have grown deeper in my faith and more grounded in the knowledge of God. I am now well-prepared for ministry in this postmodern world.” Likewise, Levi, who is pursuing a master’s degree in Divinity, found out about TCA College from his pastor in the Philippines. “I had never heard of TCA College until my senior pastor recommended it to me. He found the school balanced in both head knowledge and heart aspects. Coming to TCA College has given me a wider perspective of what it’s like to be in the ministry, especially in dealing with different cultures and traditions. My training here has opened my mind theologically and built me up spiritually.” Classmates and friends Beyond lectures and books, the two students, on scholarship funded by Trinity’s Missions Fund, also

made new friends. As Nguyen elaborated, “TCA has provided a good environment to build strong relationships among the students. The best memory I have about TCA was the time I had with the small group and room mates. We are bonded like a family and can freely share about what we have gone through in the past, ¬ challenges in the present and our hearts’ desires for the coming years.” For Levi, he enjoyed serving in the College’s activities and trainings. “It was also exciting to get to meet people of different tongues and cultures, and learning from each other.” Thankful for TCA College and the Lecturers “I really appreciate the lecturers in TCA College. It is not only because the lecturers are very knowledgeable, l but also because they are very friendly and warm in helping the students. I am very touched by them,” shared Nguyen. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank TCA College and Trinity for providing a good educational environment as well as supporting me financially through the

scholarship program. God has been using TCA College and Trinity to bless me and many others for His Kingdom, in many ways.” “Throughout my journey here as a student, I have seen God’s direction and providence as I am being equipped and prepared for my future ministry,” said Levi. “The lecturers have been very approachable and helpful and I want to commend the College for tangibly meeting the needs of the students in every way possible. I have been richly blessed!” TCA College has trained and equipped more than 1,500 students from 30 nations all over the world with the necessary skills for their ministry since 1979. The funding disbursed by Trinity’s Missions Department to TCA College also help to cover the various school fees incurred by leaders and pastors on scholarship here. This is part of Trinity’s expression of ‘passionate heartbeat’ to raise a harvest force for the global harvest fields.

To find out how you can contribute to this fund, please visit http://tca.edu.sg/aboutus donation.html

HEARTBEAT

Partnership ENRICHES, ENABLES and EMPOWERS In the life of a local church, there are some who are given five talents, some two and some one. God has given everyone talents according to each of their abilities. In this issue, Amy Lin shares how three different groups of Trinitarians used what was given to them to work with Care Community Services Society (CCSS) to bless the community. No one says “No” to home cooked meals prepared with love. To bless the elderly community at CCSS’ CARElderly Seniors Activity Centre (SAC), a Trinitarian carecell decided to cook for them simple, nutritious home cooked meals that are not high in salt and fat content.

1. One of the care cell member preparing lunch for our elderly folks 2. Elderly folks enjoying yummy lunch 3. Japanese lunch cooked and prepared in our CARElderly Seniors Activity Centre

4. Some B-60 runners posing with GOH, Ms Tin Pei Ling, Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC 5. 2 CareHut children with their faces painted by their friends! 6. Art teacher giving instructions to the children

Different types of dishes were provided over several days, with the fragrance of freshly made seaweed soup filling the air one afternoon, and local delights like mui fan were prepared on another. Initially just a one-time carecell event, the volunteers turned it into a regular affair for the 35 elderly folks in SAC because everyone enjoyed it so much. This carecell has literally and figuratively nourished the elderly folks with love and warmth through the provision of home cooked meals.

Driven by their passion for running, a group of Trinitarians from the Warriors Running Club came together to turn their passion into a blessing through the Believe B60 Run, a one-ofa-kind fundraising event. Unlike other charity runs, this was a relay run where participants took turns to complete a distance of 485km. This run was a first in the history of CCSS. The idea was mooted for more than a year before this group of passionate runners witnessed their dream become a reality. The 60-hour charity relay run started on September 5 and ended on September 8 at our

CARElderly SAC at Blk 35 Circuit Road. The “B” in Believe B60 Run stand for the runners’ believe that they can turn their passion into blessing. They believe they can have an impact in the lives CCSS work with, as well as the generations that come after. The 165 volunteers who were on board with many other corporate sponsors and donors believe that every effort contributed will enable CCSS to continue its work in the community. Their combined efforts have made the event successful and made this goal possible.

About CCSS We are a registered charity affiliated to the National Council of Social Service. We are also an Institute of a Public Character (IPC). At CCSS, we are not content simply to see someone helped; we want to see individuals and families transformed and become empowered people who are then channels of blessing for others in the larger community. Partner us by making a donation to support the work of CCSS! • Online donation by credit card/eNETS via www.sggives.org/ccss • Make a cheque donation payable to “CCSS” • Fill up our GIRO form found on our website www.carecom.org.sg *All donations made from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2015 will enjoy 2.5 times tax deduction. Partner CCSS to bless 10 others this 2015! Contact us at 6304 7604 or email ccss@carecom.org.sg Find us on @ www.fb.com/carecommunityservicessociety

“I don’t want to!” “I am scared.” “What if I make a mistake and draw wrongly?” These were some of the comments heard when more than 100 children from CCSS’ CareHut program, a school-based student care centre for disadvantaged children, gathered for a special face-painting workshop. Generously sponsored by a local art studio run by a Trinitarian business owner, four art teachers came together on a Tuesday afternoon during the September school holidays to conduct this workshop for the children. At the end of the workshop, these children emerged as beautiful, young tigers and butterflies with their faces painted… by their friends! This workshop empowered the children with the ability to express their creativity away from the traditional pen and paper medium. While the children enjoyed the workshop thoroughly, it also had the added benefit of helping to boost their confidence as they drew on their friends’ faces, as well as build trust in their friends who were tasked to draw on their faces. 77

PULSE

Releasing the Year of the

Lord’s Favor

On January 2, 2015, close to 2,500 Trinitarians came together to pray in faith, and commit the year 2015 into the Lord. Diana Lim reports

Releasing the year of the Lord’s favor that night wasn’t about lifting up our personal petitions to the Lord in prayer. If there was one word to describe the prayer meeting that night, it would be ‘selfless’. It’s been reported in the US that more than 1,700 pastors leave the ministry every month1. And if you think that your pastors and leaders live their lives on a different planet with absolutely no stress and 1

Internet Source: www.churchleaders.com

problems, here’s the truth, they are as human as you are. We cannot stress how important it is that we pray for them and their families. That night we honored our pastors and leaders, men and women who give of themselves to shepherd their flock, by praying and dedicating them to the Lord. It was also a declaration of us submitting to their leadership as they lead us into 2015.

Prophetic words… For our Pastors “I speak an increase and expansion of your ministries in this new season. The Lord will strengthen your shoulders for the work and grant you strategic insight, wisdom, and favor. He will increase your base and bring in the harvest workers. There will be a breakthrough in every level of ministry. Walk in the boldness of the Holy Spirit and see that nothing will be impossible for those who put their hope in Christ.” For our Sectional Leaders “I release Isaiah 61 upon you, that you will walk in great anointing and authority to speak and release breakthrough. There will come a time when you’ll have to preach. God is releasing a power of proclamation over you as His leaders to speak life and things into being.” For our Spiritual Parents, Associate Cell Leaders and Cell Leaders “I declare Leviticus 25 over you. In this year of jubilee, you will step out to become a blessing force, to proclaim and to release the year of the Lord’s favor, rest and restoration. You will see spiritual births happening. There will be fruitfulness in your lives personally, spiritually and the people whom you minister to. This fruitfulness is a symbol of the year of Jubilee manifesting in your lives.”

PULSE

160 precious children, whose ages ranged from 9 to 11 years old, attended the Ablaze! children’s camp at Trinity@ Paya Lebar during the school holidays from November 25 to 27, 2014. 49 adults including the pastoral team generously gave their time and talents to serve at this camp. Dawn Lim reports.

“God told me to treat Him more seriously through my attitudes and thoughts.” – David, 11 years old

“God told me that my heart can be bigger if I love my parents more than ever.” – David, 11 years old

“I felt that God was touching my joints. I have JRA (Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis).” – Josthan Chua, 10 years old. 80

“Let the little children come to me,”said Jesus in Matthew 19:14, and indeed, God’s love transcends all ages. His House includes even the littlest ones among us. A simple love for God, dependence on Him, and understanding of God’s Word were shared at the Ablaze! children’s camp. Passion for God grew ablaze like a mighty fire, igniting and overwhelming everyone’s hearts. Here’s what our children had to say:

“During the altar call, God told me that He is going to use me to touch others and be a joy to everyone.” - Esther, 11 years old

“I experienced God’s majesty and miracles when my granduncle received Christ after I visited him in the hospital yesterday after camp.” – Genevieve, 10 years old

PULSE

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE

Over three nights from December 5 to 7, 2014, IGNYTE ministry entered new waters by holding its first ever worship concert. The sound of praise seemingly rang out endlessly, with many lives touched and inspired to shine a light for their generation. By Hannah Lee. Two years prior to the concert, God had already started to prepare the ministry for it. Various youths and leaders started having visions and dreams of a concert that would bring light, hope and love to a generation shrouded in spiritual darkness. Though no one understood what these visions meant at first, when the idea of a concert came about, it became clear that this initiative was truly from God. Through prayer, God revealed the themes for each of the three days – Presence, Love, and Strength. God would reveal His glory, mend the broken, and bring security to the lost at the concert. Many band members also experienced personal God-encounters during practice sessions. Kicking off with a video and soundtrack made by one of the youths, the concert experienced God’s awesome presence as the youths danced and worshipped before Him. The spirit of God 82

touched liives thro ough the songs and the me ess ssag age e by guestt speaker Passtor Ch hris Long.. “During the wors ship conce ertt, G d reminded Go d me that He will b there to supp be port me throu ough hard times and that nothing is impossible with Him. God placed courage, fai a th and determina n tion na within me e and I am now con on nfident that He is s wit i h me in this jou ourney ou of life,” share es Audriana, 14 es 4 years old. On the su ubseq quent nights, t e youtths retur th urne ur n d with a heiightened sensse of excitement, he e ger to worship ea ip pG God od. A sens od sense e off v cttor vi o y filled ed d tth he atmos he osph ph p here such h th hat the youths could no ot sttop praising ng g God even by the e end d of th he co oncert! Abigaail Leong, 16 year a s old, said she fe elt God’s pressenc ncce like never before e. “As I worshi hipp p ed pp e and d lilstened d to God’s word rd, I cou uld fe eel e Him pouring out His s lov o e onto to me. e. I h hav ave personally av yb be een touc che ed by God d’s love thro oug ugh this exp xper erienc nce e, aand I have e

also learned how powerful and meaningful worship is.” The experiences that 16-year-old Mavis, had at the concert led to an unexpected transformation in those around her, “During the concert, God prompted me to pray for my grandfather whom I had a difficult time reaching out to. Recently, he was admitted to the hospital and was touched by the kindness of Christians around him. He even requested for Pastor Alan to pray for him and wanted to come for the Christmas event! God heard my prayer during the concert and caused my grandfather to be more receptive to God!” The concert saw a total of 100 FTVs and 56 decisions made for the Lord. IGNYTE ministry also experienced a spiritual breakthrough. We truly believe that nothing is impossible with God, and have been challenged to reach our generation for His glory.

PULSE

BOOSTed for Christ! From Dec 14-16, 2014, 63 leaders from Campus Ministry set out on a journey to Pulai Springs Resort to be recharged, refreshed and renewed to soar for God. A BOOST, as this camp was aptly named, was what everyone needed from God in this season. By Rachel Lim Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Painting a mental picture of a seagull gliding confidently toward a known-direction in the midst of a storm, guest speaker Pastor Jonathan Lee, spoke of finding rest in God to help us in our journey through life. He exhorted us to stand firm on God’s truth that He is always good and we can rest from striving. There were many defining moments when we pressed in for breakthroughs and encountered God powerfully. One key takeaway was when Pastor Jonathan spoke about washing each other’s feet just as Jesus washed the feet of His disciples.. “I realised that there were areas in my life that I needed to yield to God and allow Him to cleanse completely. As Jesus had washed

my feet, I too, need to wash the feet of my brothers and sisters in Christ. It was a powerful calling for me to adopt a servanthood attitude and have a heart to serve His people. Now, I have greater resolve to serve more in my carecell and church, and to nurture my Spiritual Baby,” shares Joshua Choo, a year two NUS student. During the workshops on prayer, we were engaged with the Holy Spirit for hours – dwelling in God’s presence and hearing Him speak into the respective situations that were brought before the Lord. Not only did we learn how to step into God’s presence, this experience also taught us that prayer is more than just bringing our requests to God – it can simply be resting in His presence as well. Joel Foo, a first-year student at National University of Singapore shares how he was impacted by this experience. “God asked me, ‘Is your heart in the right

posture?’ Instantly, I knew God was telling me that my heart was not right before Him and to put down my pride and return to Him. I am awed and deeply humbled by this experience.” Joshua Choo received much joy and encouragement from this session as well. “For the past few months, I had been out of touch with God amid the demands of other commitments,” he says, “this session of lingering with God for several hours enabled me to set aside my many concerns and be attuned to His presence. I also realised that I have been setting my eyes on the things of earth rather than pursuing the things of Heaven. Now I know that I should be storing my treasures in Heaven!” For many Campus leaders, this camp was a pivotal moment where they learnt to hear from God and tune their hearts toward Him. May we be a generation that hears and obeys Him.

FOCUS

Are there Errors in the Bible?

TOUGH By Lily Lim

As Christians, we believe in the inerrancy of the Bible. The term “inerrancy” refers to the fact the Bible is without error. Although there are some minor copyist mistakes in copies and translations, there are no errors in the original text of the Bible. Logically, God cannot make a mistake (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18); and since the Bible is God’s Word (John 10:34-35), it cannot contain error. Just as Paul wrote to Timothy that all Scripture is breathed out by God (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and God cannot speak untruth, this means that the Bible cannot contain any untruth. Are there errors in Bible manuscripts and translations? There are minor copyist mistakes in the Bible manuscripts. For example, in 2 Chronicles 9:25 we learn that Solomon had four thousand horse stalls, but the Masoretic Text1 of 1 Kings 4:26 says he had forty thousand horse stalls. This would have been too many for the twelve thousand horsemen Solomon had. Another example of a copyist’s error is clear from Masoretic Text of 2 Chronicles 22:2, which says Ahaziah was 42 years old, but 2 Kings 8:26 tells us that Ahaziah was 22 years old. He could not have been 42 years old, or he would have been older than his father.

parallel passages; and they do not affect the central message of the Bible. The Bible also contains some problematic passages with biblical accounts containing apparent discrepancies with references in secular history and claims of science. There are also contradictions between parallel passages; for example, in the Old Testament books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, and the Gospels in the New Testament. Contradictions include matters of chronology, numbers, and other details. How are these problems to be dealt with? Several approaches have been taken: Benjamin Warfield maintained “the doctrinal teaching of biblical inerrancy is in itself such a strong consideration that the phenomena can virtually be ignored.”2 Another theologian, Dewey Beegle, contended that “the problematic phenomena require us to abandon belief in biblical inerrancy.”3 There were also suggestions to abolish all these bothersome phenomena by harmonizing all the differences. However, no satisfactory solutions were offered. Perhaps, we should take heed the wisdom of St Augustine, “If we are perplexed by any apparent contradiction in Scripture, it is not allowable to say, the author of this book is mistaken; but either the manuscript is faulty, or the translation is wrong, or you have not understood.”4 1

The Masoretic Text is the Hebrew text of the Scriptures approved for general use in Judaism. It is also widely used in translations of the Old Testament of Christian Bibles. It was primarily compiled, edited and distributed by a group of Jews known as the Masoretes between the seventh and tenth centuries.

Benjamin B. Warfield, “The Real Problem of Inspiration,” in The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, ed. Samuel G. Craig (London: Marshall, Morgan and Scott, 1951), 219-20.

With regard to copyist errors, it is prudent to note that no original manuscript has ever been found with an error in it. In most cases the error is obvious from the context or the material found in

Dewey Beegle, Scripture, Tradition, and Infallibility (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1973), 195-7.

St. Augustine. Reply to Faustus the Manichaean 11.5 in Philip Schaff, A Select Library of the Nicene and Ante-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1956), vol. 4.

uestions answered 87

FOCUS The Bible is “a revelation of the mind and will and character and being of an infinitely great, perfectly wise and absolutely holy God.”5 This revelation, authored by God, is made to men; finite beings who are imperfect in intellectual development and consequently, in knowledge, and who are also imperfect in character and consequently, in spiritual discernment. The mistakes are not in the revelation of God, but are in the misinterpretation of man. We must, therefore, reaffirm that the copies and translations are also the Word of God to the degree that they preserve the original message. There’s bound to be difficulty when the finite tries to understand the infinite. I have been cornered by Christians who desire to live Bible-centred lives and are sincerely concerned about their faith. They’re aware the answers they seek can be found in the Word of God. However, they struggle for answers to a question such as: “How do you explain that the Bible is the Word of God?” Questions can in turn be counter-posed: “How do you account for the fulfilled prophecies of the Bible if it is of human origin?” “How do you account for the marvelous 5

R.A. Torrey, Difficulties in the Bible: Alleged Errors and Contradictions (Chicago, IL: Moody Press), 10.

unity of the 66 books of the Bible, written under circumstances and timing so diverse and remote from one another?” We ought to also recognize that the Bible should be judged in terms of the cultural setting in which it was expressed. For example, we should not expect that the standards of accuracy to which the printing press and mass media of our time to be comparable to that of the first century. There is a wide diversity between our culture and that of biblical times. Another common mistake of critics is to take a text out of proper context. For example, some claim that the Bible says “there is no God” (Psalm 14:1). However, reading the full context we find that the verse actually says, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.,’” (Psalm 14:1). As the adage goes, “A text out of context is a pretext.”6 An objection to or difficulty in believing a doctrine does not in any way prove the doctrine to be untrue. There have been doctrines in sciences regarded as true today that were not accepted in the past. For example, the Copernican theory, now so universally accepted, encountered difficulties when it was initially proclaimed. One would be a superficial Christian if he gives up his belief in the divine origin and inerrancy of the Bible because of some facts that he cannot reconcile with that doctrine. The Bible is the Word of God! We must realize that the Bible has the power to save, to forgive, to bring peace and hope and joy, to lift men before God. How to account for it if the Bible is not the Word of God in a sense that no other book is the Word of God? The seeming defects of the Bible are exceedingly insignificant and pale in comparison with the unparalleled glories that make the Bible stand apart from all other books in the world. Mark Twain was right when he concluded that it was not the part of the Bible he did not understand that bothered him the most, but the parts that he did understand! 6

G.L. Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1982), 17.

Lily Lim is a Faculty of the School of Theology (English) in TCA College. She is a candidate for the Doctor of Missiology with Fuller Theological Seminary (USA). Among Lily’s area of research is the study of religious interactions in a pluralistic society, especially in the Asian context.

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